The human rights of their fellow citizens often appear to be at the bottom of the list of priorities of many South African officials. So it’s not altogether surprising to hear that street people will be “cleared” from Durban for COP17, to places unknown. Dealing with climate breakdown is about the rights of human and other living beings, and abusing human rights to facilitate a climate change conference which should have human rights at its heart is disgraceful.

10 responses to “Durban ‘to clear street kids’ for COP17”

Here we go again, we did a lot of work with Miyere The Massai Warrior – with the Municiplity just before the World Cup and a lot of promises were made, but obviously unkept. The streeted child situation is a problematic one and it won’t simply go away.
It is also quite complex and nuanced, a societal imperative also which requires planning and carefull Activism…

Clear them WHERE TO? and HOW? Sweep them up and dump them, in Cape Town, maybe? (That’s been done before). Or just herd them into a van and then shoot them, like in Rio?
It’s a problem. Fix it. Sheesh, how difficult is it to work that out? Moving it along is not going to make it go away. That mindset got us to need COP17 in the first place.

What’s this “climate breakdown” nonsense that is mentioned in the lead article? The different global climates do not and are not breaking down, simply changing, just as they always have done. COP17 is just another politically motivated fiasco like COP15 in Copenhagen. It, like COP15, will do nothing bu waste money that should be used to help improve the living standards of the seriously deprived millions around the globe.

There is no convincing evidence that our use of fossil fuels has any significant impact upon global climates. The IPCC is a political organisation not a scientific one and needs to be disbanded. Predictions are that the sun is entering a very quiet phase which is likely to push us into another little ice age for several decades.

But on the science… well, clearly, you’re not a climate scientist, Pete. But expect the rest of us to believe your take. Or McIntyre and McKittrick’s. But neither of them are climate scientists either. Their “expose” is debunked here, by real climate scientists.

Can we assume that when you need heart surgery, you consult a dentist? And get your car repaired by a someone who knits?

About

South African civil society is responding to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change COP 17, in Durban (28 Nov – 9 Dec).
This blog provides updates on civil society actions. The official SA civil society/COP17 blog is at www.c17.org.za.
Note: the official COP is closed to the general public. Events open to the general public are listed here.